Aamir Khan pledges to donate his organs

Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan pledges to donate his all usable organs on occasion of Maharashtra Organ Donation Day, at a event organised by the Zonal Transplant Co-Ordination Centre at the KEM Hospital Mumbai on Saturday. All pictures by Prashant Sawant.

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan pledged to donate his organs on Maharashtra Cadaver Organ Donation Day held on 27th March 2014, at K.E.M Hospital, where he signed the donation card that stated,“I Aamir Khan .Age 49,son of Tahir Hussain Khan.Resident of Mumbai. Hereby unequivocally authorize the removal of following organs or any other suitable organ of my body after my death. For therapeutic purposes’. 1] Kidney...2]liver...3]lungs...4]Heart...5]Pancreas...6]Intestines]Eyes 8]Skin...9]Ear drums 10]HEART Valve.... 11] bone."

Dr Suchita Desai, K.E.M Hospital also stated, “Yes! Aamir Khan pledged to donate the organs of his body on the Maharashtra Cadaver Organ Donation Day which takes place every year on March. The organs of every donor are taken after the brain is said to have clinically dead. This day was celebrated in K.E.M.hospital where Aamir Khan along with all of us too was present and signed h the pledge of donating his organs.”

According to reports Aamir had also allegedly stated that, ‘I have to say that it is something I have been thinking about for a long time. Kiran and I have discussed it, but we never discussed it seriously till she saw ‘Ship Of Theseus’. This time, we spoke about it (donating organs) in a concrete manner and realised that we could alter the lives of others without harming ourselves in anyway. I would be happy to donate all parts of my body that can be donated when I die..’

It was a spontaneous overflow of emotions. The venue was the lecture hall in BMC-run KEM hospital on Saturday. Members of the families, who had donated organs of their deceased kin, were on stage and were recounting the difficult, yet inevitable decision they had taken to donate organs after the untimely death of their loved ones. The Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC), Mumbai felicitated 22 families on the occasion for having donated eyes, kidney, liver and skin of their deceased family members.

Ghatkopar resident Dr Anil Vaidya (59) lost his wife, Sonali (52), in a two-wheeler accident. Sonali's kidneys, liver and eyes were donated. "I was driving the scooter and Sonali was riding pillion. While negotiating a road hump, the scooter swerved and Sonali fell off. Her head hit the road and she slipped into a coma. A week later, she was declared brain dead at Fortis Hospital. The neurologist proposed we donate her organs. We agreed," said Anil Vaidya.

Last December, 19-year-old Anshul Mantri, a budding CA student, fell from a local train and died. "We agreed to transplantation so that our son would live through someone else," said Anshul's teary-eyed mother Anita (46).

Shahji Taphare, father of deceased Sachin (16), could be seen looking at the picture of his son in the memento he had been presented time and again. "Sachin too died falling from a train. He had aspired to become an Army officer. My wife was apprehensive, but I went ahead and donated his organs," Shahji told dna.

Actors Aamir Khan and Sharad Ponkshe, who interacted with the donor families, said they too had pledged their organs. "We should appreciate the courage of the family members who donate their kins' organs," said Aamir Khan.

Since 2001, Mumbai has seen 346 kidney and 81 liver cadaver donations. It's a poor record. There are 2,983 people enlisted with ZTCC to get kidney transplant in Mumbai alone. And there are 216 awaiting liver transplant.

"We have to strengthen the programme. A group of donor families have formed a support group, Jeevan Pravah, which will counsel families under distress and help them donate organs of kins," said Dr Sanjay Nagral, liver transplant surgeon at Jaslok Hospital.

2012 – 43 kidneys /18 livers/2 lungs

2013 – 36 kidneys /19 livers

March 2014 – 20 kidneys/10 livers

To donate an organ, an organ donor card has to be signed. The donor card has to be kept with the person who has signed it.